Bermudez to take over Jan. 1

Inaugural celebration is next Sat.

Dec. 28, 2012

Mayor-elect Ruben Bermudez

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Anyone who wants to donate food for the Jan. 5 inaugural event is asked to contact Sheena Santiago at (856) 692-1111.

PARTING WORDS

The outgoing City Council’s last meeting was held Wednesday. Here are some thoughts the council members shared regarding the end of their terms in office:

Peter Coccaro, City Council President: “I congratulate the incoming council and wish you well. We are just a phone call away if you need any help. We are here because we live in this town and these people here are your best assets. The city came through some tough times, and it all comes down to hard work in getting the job done. And when it comes to that, the employees here are second to none.”

Ed Conrow, Council Vice President: “It’s been an honor to serve. I got into this because I live here and have a vested interest in the city. I think everyone on this council can walk away and be proud of the investment we’ve made. Being on city council helped me out in my life and my career down the road. But it will certainly be easier watching council meetings on TV than sitting down here. Now we are handing it off, and my advice is to just go be honest and do what’s best for the community.”

Mayra Arroyo, Councilwoman: “This council did not have a hidden agenda. I know I was open and transparent. You are not going to make everyone happy. I definitely made a lot of friends at City Hall and I will miss the ladies in Finance. It was the best four years in government. We served the community without having an agenda. And I do wish the council-elect the best of luck.”

Douglas Albrecht, Councilman: “City Council is made up of the people in your community who you know are honest, hardworking people who have taken the time to lead. We’re not always right, but we’re not always wrong, either. We each come from different perspectives and try to come up with the perspective that will make it work. I know we are in good hands going forward because the people coming in are doing the job for the same reason — to make Vineland a better place.”

Louis Cresci, Councilman: “I’d like to commend this governing body because it had no real agenda. While we always didn’t agree, we agreed to disagree. I saw us all take different pathways to the same end, which was the taxpayers. I entered into this to be open and transparent and not a rubber stamp. I personally feel I can walk away feeling I did the very thing I set out to do as far as being open and transparent. There would be no need for any OPRA (Open Public Records Act) law if people thought the same way.”

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VINELAND — Ruben Bermudez will be sworn in as Vineland’s first Hispanic mayor during a private ceremony at City Hall on New Year’s Day.

Officials announced Friday that Bermudez plans to take the oath of office at 10 a.m. Tuesday in City Council chamber. State Superior Court Judge Julio Mendez, assignment judge for the Atlantic/Cape May vicinage, will administer the oath.

Mendez, like Bermudez, is a trailblazer in the city’s Hispanic community. In 2007, he was named the first Hispanic to serve as the city’s Municipal Court judge.

Mendez “is a longtime friend,” the mayor-elect said Friday. “I’ve known him many, many, many years.”

The low-key swearing-in Tuesday is expected to contrast sharply with celebratory inauguration festivities planned for next Saturday. That’s when Bermudez’s five-member City Council slate, all of whom were swept into office along with the mayor-elect in the Dec. 18 runoff election, will be sworn in. The ceremony is scheduled to begin at noon in the Landis Intermediate School theater.

Four of the incoming council members — Paul Spinelli, Anthony Fanucci, Angela Calakos and Maritz Gonzalez — will be sworn in by Mendez on Saturday, along with Bermudez, who will take the oath a second time. The fifth incoming councilman, John Procopio, has not yet decided who will administer his oath, according to Sheena Santiago, a Bermudez campaign volunteer who is coordinating the event Saturday.

The theme for the Saturday event will be “One vision. One city. Moving forward together,” said Santiago, a former city councilwoman.

Some 250 people so far have responded to Facebook invitations for the inauguration sent out her and Bermudez, she said Friday.

An additional 200 invitations are being sent via regular mail. The invitations were paid for by Bermudez, according to Santiago. “He didn’t want the taxpayers to be burdened with any cost so he paid for them himself,” she said.

The invitations did not include RSVP cards for a response because the event is open to the public, Santiago said.

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“We printed up 200 invitations, but it is a public event and anyone who would like to come is welcome to come and share this historic moment,” she said.

Bermudez, a Landis Avenue business owner and former City Council president, was elected to the four-year mayor’s post last week after an eight-year absence from city politics. He ousted first-term incumbent Robert Romano, who has kept a low profile since his defeat.

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